@Sweden April 9, 2012 01:39
@Edenized I know! I had Hunger Games dreams tonight, but I only recall a vague feeling.
I’m Sakine Madon, a 32 year old journalist in Stockholm. I work as managing editor at the Swedish opinion site Newsmill and as an independent liberal columnist at Expressen’s editorial pages. My family and I came to Sweden in 1985. I was born five years earlier in southern Turkey (Adana). Since my father is Kurdish and my mother Turkish, I often get questions about immigrants, other cultures and so on.
I’m often described as outspoken. I believe that says more about Sweden and Swedish “konsensuskultur” (culture of consensus) than me. It’s not that difficult to stick your neck out here. I hope you’ll find my tweets interesting, or at least amusing. You can find my blog here.
@Edenized I know! I had Hunger Games dreams tonight, but I only recall a vague feeling.
@jhclutter @edmoats Finland has had that word for a long time. Are they genderless because of it?
@foolishbeing @SabrinaSpiher Yeah, it’s weird. But good weird.
@foolishbeing @SabrinaSpiher then you’ve seen the “if you can play, you can play” project, right? I well up when I watch their movies.
@Gaby_Chamorro like when I need a haircut: I know where to go and what to say in Stockholm. Here, it’s a Thing. A Project.
@Gaby_Chamorro three weeks. I’m here until end of May. Besides friends and family it’s small stuff. Mostly knowing my way around.
@Vassaste_Kniven @PacketNetworks I’ve seen stuff that’s Swedish that I didn’t really see before. Because I take them for granted in Sweden
@Vassaste_Kniven @PacketNetworks you see many (mundane) things clearer when you experience something entirely different
@PacketNetworks @Vassaste_Kniven exactly (:
@AnaBalentovic thank you! I’m very much looking forward to this!
@eldahshan yes, @jocke is a friend and a great source of inspiration.
@DJDarren haahaha! Thanks for the laugh (:
@Erica_Jane_MP I guess. I just feel sorry for everyone they I influence. Pre-destined roles are depressing
@Vassaste_Kniven once a Swede, always a Swede? Or, benig Swedish isn’t defined by where you live, it’s a state of mind
@Gaby_Chamorro thank you! (btw, I’ve got a brother and several friends who are available as straight :)
@ChefyStephie thanks! I guess a lot about (in-)equality. And Sweden seen through the differences between Stockholm/New York.
Funny that the notion that gender roles are constructs of society and not the biological results of penises/vajayjays is so provoking.
@edmoats yes. Like a woman that sleeps around is a slut. A guy who does is a hero. That kind of stuff.
@SabrinaSpiher @foolishbeing that’s very flattering. I’ve got a friend who’s my twin when it comes to taste in guys. But he’s gay too (:
@edmoats afaik, nobody wants to eradicate gender in Sweden. But many want to eradicate the roles that are attached to penises and vaginas
@edmoats you should visit and see. We’re not genderless in Sweden. We’re more free.
@Thorgny @dosespressos Kungsholmen too. And Telefonplan/Midsommarkransen/Apudden. And östermalm, and … (:
@deanders2004 oh! I’ve got plenty of those too (: thank you.
@Multistability and lucky that he lives in a two room apartment, his ego might need the extra space from compliments like this (;
@dosespressos of course, that also shows a level of conformity that I dislike.
@dosespressos I love Stockholm! Re: gay neighborhoods, that there are none in Stockholm shows the level of integration.
@edmoats in the US gender is a real restriction, for example. You’re expected to behave a certain Way according to your gender.
@deanders2004 I’ve got lots of good looking straight friends I can introduce you to (:
@FizaIsa Hello Fiza!
That too. Interesting fact: Stockholm does not have a “THE gay neighborhood”. RT @dosespressos: @sweden what about gay neighbourhoods?
@jhclutter curators of Sweden tweet about their lives. We’re all Swedish, our lives show different facets of Sweden.
@JeSuisEnFlicka really? Tell me more, what’s your experience?
@franosch @FastMacsTweet that’s why I find that movie do scary. We might actually end up there. With no super hero to save us.
@edmoats one of the great things in Sweden is that you’re less restricted by your gender than in most other countries.
@jhclutter the communism. We didn’t know the end of it was four years away. My mom married a Swede.
@Saralaise yeah! Now that I think about it, the characters are portrayed with little gender stereotypes
@SuperNerdMe it’s better than KatPee (:
@Marionstockholm thank you!
@twheatcroft I think it’s one of the scariest movies ever. Partly because how likely that future is. And we won’t have a V.
A great thing about being gay is that most western cities have a gay community. Easier to meet people (and by “meet” I don’t mean “hook up”)
@darran this is the first time that a Swede in another time zone is tweeting, so we decided to do it Sunday.
@NiklasDahlqvist nej, det kommer snart!
@onomatopoetry for the V for Vendetta remark? I guess. I’ve always been a bigger fan of movies than comics though.
@elnoidelbarret Really? Oh wow, consdiering I couldn’t put down the first one that says a lot.
In my head I see Natalie Portman as Katniss. Probably because of the similarities with “V for Vendetta”, one of the best movies ever.
I just bought the second and third book of the Hunger Games. It’s weird how much I identified with Katniss in the first one.
@mandalaya tack (btw, jag tänker ofta på dig, typ varje gång jag passerar en brandstation här i NY :-)
@Britt_W thanks Britt! Where in England do you live?
@PierMarioB thanks! I’m really “pepp” as we say in Sweden.
@stefanocucchi yes, I am a guy (: The photo switch will happen shortly. And I’m Swedish, but currently live in NY for a while.
@MarWims tack! Jag gillar @reddit och det är kul om fler upptäcker det underbara “IAmA”
@daslament it’s extremely flattering to get my first proposal after half on hour, but I think my boyfriend would object if I said yes.
@donna_carlsson @ninaliss @stielli thanks (:
@jhclutter dzienkuje (that’s probably spelled wrong, considering I haven’t written in Polish for over 20 years)
@daslament och smickrad! tack!
@Johnssonskan I grew up in the southern suburbs of Stockholm. Now my mom and her boyfriend live close to Valdemarsvik.
@stefanocucchi what a coincidence! I understand she recently moved back to NY, where I am too. Funny. I like her, but I don’t know her.
The avatar still shows my predecessor @sakine. If you want to know what I look like, my Facebook profile is public: http://t.co/qXFLUBNg
@DerFredo thank you!
@EmilKleen det tar några timmar innan avatarbytet slår igenom helt, tydligen.
Hi! I’m Micke and I’ll be your Swede for the next week. I’ll be doing this @reddit style http://t.co/03xsgmqF so: AMA.
@naja_kaothia thank YOU!
@kazarnowicz Naaaw :))
That was me being @sweden for a week. Has been a pleasure! <3 Next week lovely @kazarnowicz will be @sweden
@erikomelin :D Next time.
@erikomelin Hahahaha! Why didn’t you say hello?
@hezymundo cool!
Metro time again. In Stockholm, we rarely use cars. http://t.co/LVcAXNAO
@JockeHolmstrom hah! Alright.
Lovely, right? #stockholm http://t.co/EeRLRJq3
Looking crazy. http://t.co/UkNU7QJ5
Wow! Young Christians DO exist in Stockholm. http://t.co/SEwmNlpA
Liars… http://t.co/tsK9hL2x
@stinabengtsson jaaaa! Next time :) On my way to city now.
@stinabengtsson jaaaa! Next time :) On my way to city now.
@stinabengtsson I’m Aspudden now, btw ;-) With a smålänning..
@stinabengtsson I’m Aspudden now, btw ;-) With a smålänning..
@stinabengtsson Belive it or not, but there are about 12 more people living in Sölvesborg ;)
@altaf_orient Nooo, not alone (booooring).
@kafari Haha, bet he lives in Stockholm nowdays.
Finally find a place to stay overnight in Sölvesborg, Blekinge. :D #SwedenRock
@pepperrepublic We are taken care of by the government ;-) @sajidnizami @saadie
Want to stay inside all day.. http://t.co/KwOqJPUT
@BrdNrd expensive right?
@mittwochmadchen haha….
@SEmelie me too!
@HaudIgnota No worries;)
Oh no!! The sillyness! http://t.co/hD0Px4td
Swedes from Småland are good at saving…
Filled in my income-tax return form and got help from a “smålänning”. Great! Saved almost 9000 SEK.
@Jorgensdotter thanks babe!
Snowing outside… :(
@Bjornhassel because he’s ready to mingle.
Past afterwork with my Turkish singel libertarian friend Volkan. http://t.co/o1LH47EB
@Turkish_Futbol My mother is Turkish! But my Turkish is really bad I’m afraid..
Difficult one… I’ll take the one on the left today, and the one on the right tomorrow :o)
@helenasandklef OK. I trust you.
Could I get your advice please. Which dress suits an Easter afterwork? http://t.co/ZKCp0ltI
@danielsjoman Ugree!
Running in Stockholm. Södermalm on the other side. http://t.co/S9flRX9d
@Grizz83 Ask a Christian ;)
Finally free! Time for some running around Årstaviken in Stockholm. Happy Easter!
@EvaLisaS I see:)
@EvaLisaS I know. I live in Sweden.
@Willejms That’s true.
@ManInTheField Thanks for reading! In Sweden it’s not controversial beeing an atheist.
@ercanalkaya Gunaydin :-)
@AnyaInLove Birthdays and new year:)
@MWhalan Exactly. I’m pro!
Interesting answers (thank you!). I’m sure not the only one working today. :o)
My younger brother used to complain. “We don’t get gifts on Christmas OR on Ramadan! It’s not fair!” Good point.
We (my family) don’t celebrate Muslim holidays either.
For me, who doesn’t celebrate Swedish or Christian holidays, this can get a bit confusing…
@Lexeme sounds great, think it’s the same here.
Work today, in your countries?
Good morning all! I do go to work today. Not that it’s my biggest wish this sunny “Skärtorsdag”.
@philanthropizt First one:)
@Swedcitywoman Happy to hear:)
@theJAHA crazy:)
@Swedcitywoman this morning when I checked: -3 C.
@rLung8848 Oh no, didn’t read your tweet in time! Sorry
@AnnikaBeijbom thanks dear:)
People pretending it’s spring. At Södermalm. http://t.co/993eCrqT
@Cherylkarma Na, not yet. :)
@lucho870601 thanks!
Slayer & I take a walk in Stockholm. In Gamla stan at this moment.
I act (and look) like a confused tourist. Last pic! http://t.co/jE8i1j4D
@eleni_sson no spring, yet…
Plattan, a sunny day: #stockholm http://t.co/U46gNGfd
Far from IKEA… http://t.co/iIywM969
Not bad. But the Danes beat us, as usual. RT @lucafresc @sweden Is this true? Are you the 7nth happiest place on earth?
@Saadie Of course. Have my relatives there. Miss them a lot:)
@ehrdm Nice, I was born in Adana! My aunt lives in Ankara:)
@MattiasAtterbom It’s hard feeling stuff by your own…
@SwedishOkie They love Sweden, I do too. However, I’m very liberal :)
@Saadie :)
Swedish or not, depends on who you ask.
Came to Sweden -85. “Olof Palme’s paradise” as my parents, refugees after the military coup in Turkey 1980, put it.
@ehrdm Thanks, are you Turkish?
@ehrdm Depends on who you ask. I’m pretty Swedish. Father Kurdish, mother Turkish. I came to Sweden as a five year old.
@emiil Good morning neighbour ;-)
@nettie_b I’m not sure. It’s just the way it is.
It’s important to avoid neighbours. Even if they are nice.
@edmoats I agree!
@richardksmith Rasberry:)
@bolstad Oh, bror duktig, I went to Skatteverket several times. Don’t you worry, I never break any laws. Prejudiced?
I’m afraid I don’t, anyone else? RT @NieDesrochers @sweden do you know any french speaking historian in Sweden? It’s for Canadian radio…
@NieDesrochers I’m afraid I don’t :/
@sigmamutau Could you please be more specific?
@thegreatdays Cool. I went to the Swedish American institute once. In Minneapolis.
@kalleharding Because of Kalle’s caviar?
@NelsonBonner Works like a tube of toothpaste!
@chrismada9 Hard to explain, you have to taste one day:)
@holahuracan Nice. With egg & dark bread!
@MadisonSWE Of course:)
Hrm, I know how to spell parents. Suspect my twitter account doesn’t like liberals.
You have to try this: http://t.co/UoHOfxvz
@RozaKhalid *feel a shame*
@emiil :oD
“That pink thing on the bread slices ” is Swedish, eh, caviar.
Don’t tell my parets, please. Dinner: http://t.co/EuswLG2D
@sorestam Take a guess?
@martinstweetbox Me too! Have no idea.
@idaarnstedt Yes it is, and I like it to be that way.
I was asked to explain “Jantelagen”. Difficult one. Here you go. http://t.co/OCE50eSU
@isobelsverkstad :oD
@kuzmin_p12 There are still a great number of national bodies we even didn’t know existed.
Deal ;-) RT @Nicconova @sweden But promise me thay you wont become the minister of finance
@kuzmin_p12 *how
@kuzmin_p12 If only you knew hos many unnecessary things the state does.
@AnnPassa Oh no:/
FYI: One can say “robbery” for fun. And one can be pro lower taxes and still <3 Sweden. AND pro free meals in school.
<3 beeing employed
The extra taxes because I made the mistake starting up a company. Missed some “egenavgifter”. Financial accounting is not my thing…
@Vassaste_Kniven Oh, lovely Jantelagen :)
Stupid people ask why I live in Sweden.
Angry Swedish socialists: take a deep breath. We won’t get lower taxes because of my tweets.
@Zolfagary ;-*
26 457 SEK more than I already have.
Skatteverket, our public authority that takes our money/taxes, wants me to pay 26 457 SEK this year. A robbery!
Hey, don’t get me wrong. Holland is great, even if “FEBO” is gross.
@ScientiaRex But my parents don’t believe in God?
@sharinajarmila :o)
@Vassaste_Kniven But they have “strössel” on their breakfast sandwiches! :p
I <3 Swedish food. My sister lives in Holland. This stuff is disgusting: http://t.co/aH3riKZY
@saturndeeno Non Swedish: Slayer, Bijelo Dugme, Thin Lizzy:)
I know this writer! Qaisar Mahmood askes what it means to be Swedish. The answer he gets: ”Blond and reserved”.
http://t.co/gyzAXJnn
@markuskylberg :pp
For instance, when we got pork in school (free meals in Swedish schools, love it!), I was super muslim.
(I’m an atheist…however, I like to use my muslim identity when it fits me).
@bijli They start to stutter..
A “normal” person not drinking at a party makes people nervous. VERY nervous.
*drink
What else… well, we/Swedes have bad drinking habits. If I don’t want to frink, I say I’m a muslim. Just to avoid questions.
Does the Swedish consensus culture sound familiar? Gives me tourette syndrom.
@Syrran Hahahaha! :p
Hate when my readers mail me “You’re able to write what you write just because you have a different ethnical background”.
‘Minorities’, a very sensitive issue in Sweden.
Like when I claimed this candy package has nothing with racism to do. http://t.co/4o4nbmc6
As a columnist my work is to create bad atmosphere.
Do you really love everything about Sweden?
A follower told me not to “whine about everything”. Haha! But there’s too much “WE LOVE SWEDEN” here. Gets too cosy.
@vcederberg nooo, I’m 30+ !
@patrickgjackson oh, thank you!
@letterman_se I see.. No beer is like a festival without music.
@cabrowns I only have 6 days left;) Hang on there!
@peg7171 I’m afraid I don’t have one :/ Robyn is OK.
@TantSprit Thats only for teenagers! Last time I went to @hultsfred2012 I was 23. And too old.
Don’t tell me you listen to ABBA, Roxette and Swedish techno pop…
@anettenovak :o) !
Going to Sweden Rock this year. Didn’t know how hard it is getting a decent place (youth hostel, anything) to stay at. Anyone joining?
@RoadblockT bingo :)
@cfrnka I had some German in school.
@MagGust Very funny.
Yes, besserwissers. Globen.
@stinabengtsson I’m impressed ;)
@theeastflower We have a winner!
Let’s see how well you know Stockholm. Where am I? http://t.co/beEScvex
@wikipal I knooow. Mostly women, I’m afraid.
@cutiebee2 Yes it is, but I guess Christmas is more important.
@wjwinoz Not really, a few % I guess!
@kinkymal It was just a joke! She’s very kind.
@loghaD haha!
@loghaD It sure was, I like her a lot.
@TeslaRuser I see. You still speak Swedish, right? And celebrate Easter?
@Vassaste_Kniven I guess:)
Once, I accidently went to work at “Långfredag”. When my college finally answered her message was: “Go home you immigrant, It’s Easter!”
This week, people celebrate Easter. For me that means don’t go to work Thursday and Friday.
@noktacelik Hello! Oh, I <3 Istanbul. Have a nice spring.
@pajp good one!
@Grizz83 Was born in Southern Turkey, Turkish mother and Kurdish father. VERY exotic, if I may say.
I get confused when asked “where are you from?” Sometimes peopl simply want to know where in Sweden, while I prefer telling exotic stories.
I’m sick of all these “cute” silly messages. What kind of people buy this? http://t.co/a13dlGhA
@monmd79 hej & thanks:)
@hamhal tesekurler:)
Swedish lunch! http://t.co/XtgZt72L
@juffery I know! Always ask my paretnts why we came to this country…but I love Sweden a lot, I do:)
@Sweden_AR Thanks:)
Someone wanted an introduction. Hrm…32 year old journalist in Stockholm. Speak Swedish, English and some Turkish and Kurdish. Hate snow.
Monday morning = meetings, meetings, meetings.
@CroatianGirlEv Hello! Oh, sorry. Sakine Madon, journalist, Stockholm, came to Sweden -85. (Born in Turkey)
Not everyone is shy here…
A randon Swedish guy at Hötorget just stopped me: “Sakine! I follow you on Twitter!”
@oGz649 I’m so sorry! Hope you’ll like it here with or without the sun..
@llanelliboy lovely!!
@sliimed thanks!
Good morning! Stockholm today: http://t.co/FUqUPuB7
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